Budget cuts sting N.H. housing advocates

Stakeholders in the ongoing conversation surrounding affordable housing said Wednesday that the future of low-income housing and homelessness in New Hampshire will only continue to worsen, unless lawmakers approve a federal budget that embraces vital, non-discretionary funding focused on helping people.

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By Charles McMahon

seacoastonline.com

By Charles McMahon

Posted Sep. 5, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Charles McMahon

Posted Sep. 5, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

Stakeholders in the ongoing conversation surrounding affordable housing said Wednesday that the future of low-income housing and homelessness in New Hampshire will only continue to worsen, unless lawmakers approve a federal budget that embraces vital, non-discretionary funding focused on helping people.

The plea for help came from several affordable housing advocates from the state and local level who sat down with members of the Portsmouth Herald editorial board.

Elissa Margolin, director of Housing Action NH, said she is keeping a close eye on what lawmakers do in terms of the budget when they go back into session Monday. Margolin said what happens in the discussion surrounding the federal debt ceiling, as well as other budgetary measures, will have a major impact on the discretionary spending given to housing authorities across the country.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development traditionally gives New Hampshire a little more than $200 million a year in funding, the bulk of which goes to housing authorities, according to Margolin. If changes aren't made, she said, valuable programs such as rental assistance for low-income families will see devastating across-the-board cuts. The result will mean people who are on a waiting list for assistance will have to continue to wait, she said.

"It's a slow and quiet tragedy," Margolin said. "Folks who have been waiting will have to wait even longer."

Margolin said Housing Action NH, which was launched in 2009, focuses on those in the community who live well below the median family income and have difficulty accessing housing, both rentals and through home ownership.

Officials at organizations such as Housing Action NH believe federal and state resources are crucial to creating enough housing stock so everyone can afford a stable living situation, Margolin said.

"Those resources are in trouble, and have been in trouble," she said.

Ben Frost, director of public affairs for New Hampshire Housing, said the need for housing assistance has taken a major hit as a result of federal sequestration.

Up until this point, Frost said his agency has been able to deal with the impacts through the attrition of its clientele. However, if the cuts continue and nothing is done soon, Frost said his organization will have to make some difficult decisions.

"If it continues to get cut, we're not really sure what we're going to do," he said.

One option Frost said could be on the table involves doing away with the agency's waiting list for people who need assistance. If that happens, he said the organization will lose the vital connection it has with potential clients because when a person is on the waiting list for assistance, they are still provided services and education.

"We keep the waiting list open for that purpose," he said. "At this time, if programs continue to get cut, we're not sure if we'll keep the waiting list open."

Frost said a problem all along has been that there is no state funding for affordable housing. Other than some funding here and there, Frost said the state has in no way attempted to assist in the effort to create more affordable housing opportunities.

"It's a pittance, really, when compared to the demand," he said of state support for affordable housing.

The effects are already being felt at the local level.

Craig Welch, executive director for the Portsmouth Housing Authority, said his organization has felt the impact of federal budget cuts. With 580 apartment units and nearly 1,000 tenants living in PHA properties, Welch said his agency has about 360 families on its waiting list for assistance.

"We have been affected by federal budget cuts like everybody else," he said. "We're doing the best we can."

Martha Stone, executive director at Cross Roads House, said the emergency and transitional shelter's 96 beds are filled every night of the week.

"Our shelter is at full capacity nearly every day," she said.

Stone said impending budget cuts will continue to make her organization's mission of helping to transition the homeless to permanent housing that much more difficult. And when the waiting list for public housing grows, Stone said it becomes harder to get people out of the homeless shelter.

The key moving forward, according to Margolin, will be to begin educating the community on the importance of low-income housing. Margolin said people must start looking at the problem holistically, rather than in a vacuum.

Frost said one solution would be to increase the low-income housing tax credit given to those interested in developing affordable housing. New Hampshire currently gets about $2.5 million in tax credits annually, which Frost said equates to roughly $24 million in development equity.

Frost said it will ultimately be up to Congress to ensure further cuts aren't made to allocations involving housing. He said it will be up to leaders in Washington, D.C., as well as those in the local community, to ask themselves one very important question.

"What kind of society do we want to be: The kind that has a callous disregard for those in need, or a society that provides assistance to people who genuinely need that help?" he asked.